Mineral Products Association
Encyclopedia
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) is the United Kingdom
trade association
for the aggregate
s, asphalt
, cement
, concrete
, lime, mortar
, and silica
sand industries. With the addition of The British Precast Concrete Federation (BPCF), it has a growing membership of 405 companies and is the sectoral voice for mineral products. MPA membership is made up of the vast majority of independent SME companies throughout the UK, as well as the 9 major international and global companies. It covers 100% of GB cement production, 90% of aggregates production and 95% of asphalt and ready-mixed concrete production and 70% of precast concrete production. Each year the industry supplies in excess of £5 billion of materials to the £110 billion construction and other sectors. Industry production represents the largest materials flow in the UK economy and is also one of the largest manufacturing sectors.
In addition:
in Wales.
QPA Northern Ireland is affiliated to the MPA and has offices in Crumlin, County Antrim
. The British Precast Concrete Federation (BPCF), the trade Association of precast concrete manufacturers, is a member of the MPA and is based in Leicester.
MPA has regional divisions, for London & South East, South West, East Anglia, Midlands, Wales, North, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
MPA is formed from constituent bodies, representing different mineral products:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
trade association
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
for the aggregate
Construction Aggregate
Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...
s, asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
, cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
, concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, lime, mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
, and silica
Silicon dioxide
The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula '. It has been known for its hardness since antiquity...
sand industries. With the addition of The British Precast Concrete Federation (BPCF), it has a growing membership of 405 companies and is the sectoral voice for mineral products. MPA membership is made up of the vast majority of independent SME companies throughout the UK, as well as the 9 major international and global companies. It covers 100% of GB cement production, 90% of aggregates production and 95% of asphalt and ready-mixed concrete production and 70% of precast concrete production. Each year the industry supplies in excess of £5 billion of materials to the £110 billion construction and other sectors. Industry production represents the largest materials flow in the UK economy and is also one of the largest manufacturing sectors.
Key Facts and Figures
In a typical year, the UK mineral products industry supports:- the building of 130,000 new homes
- £8.0 billion on school and university improvements
- a £4.5 billion hospital building programme
- maintenance of our 230,000-mile road and 10,000-mile rail networks
- over £2 billion programme of improvements to water services
- growing investment in the rail network and the upgrading of UK airports
- the provision of new energy capacity, including renewable sources
- supplies of special sands for glass foundry and other industries
- cleansing of emissions from coal-fired power stations
- the construction of lottery-supported arts and community projects
In addition:
- every year nearly four tonnes of aggregates are needed per head of the population in the UK.
- a typical family indirectly demands a lorry load of aggregates each year
- a new house requires some 50 tonnes of aggregates
- The industry directly employs around 25,000 people and direct and indirect employment exceeds 60,000.
History
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) was formed in March 2009 from the merger of the Quarry Products Association, the British Cement Association and The Concrete Centre. MPA was officially launched in June 2009.Structure
The Mineral Products Association has offices in London, Camberley, Glasgow and FronFroncysyllte
Froncysyllte , commonly colloquially known as Fron, is a village in Wrexham county borough, Wales and stands on the banks of the River Dee and the Llangollen Canal...
in Wales.
QPA Northern Ireland is affiliated to the MPA and has offices in Crumlin, County Antrim
Crumlin, County Antrim
Crumlin is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is at the head of a wooded glen on the Camlin River, near Lough Neagh, and west of Belfast city centre. It had a population of over 4,259 people in the 2001 Census...
. The British Precast Concrete Federation (BPCF), the trade Association of precast concrete manufacturers, is a member of the MPA and is based in Leicester.
MPA has regional divisions, for London & South East, South West, East Anglia, Midlands, Wales, North, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
MPA is formed from constituent bodies, representing different mineral products:
- Agricultural Lime Association
- British Lime Association
- British Marine Aggregate Producers Association
- British Ready-Mixed Concrete Association
- Mortar Industry Association
- MPA Cement
- MPA The Concrete Centre – the central development organisation for the UK concrete industry
- Silica and Moulding Sands Association
- The British Precast Concrete Federation is a member of MPA
See also
- Mineral Products Association www.mineralproducts.org
- Careers in Quarrying www.careersinquarrying.co.uk
- Eurocode2 www.eurocode2.info
- MPA Sustainable Development Microsite www.mineralproducts.org/sustainability
- Safe Quarry www.safequarry.com
- Sustainable Concrete www.sustainableconcrete.org.uk
- Virtual Quarry www.virtualquarry.co.uk
External links
- Asphalt Industry Alliance www.asphaltindustryalliance.com
- British Geological Survey www.bgs.ac.uk
- Building Research Establishment www.bre.co.uk
- Construction Products Association www.constructionproducts.org.uk
- Confederation of British Industry www.cbi.org.uk
- European Aggregates Association www.uepg.co.uk
- Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining www.iom3.org
- Institute of Quarrying www.quarrying.org
- Natural England www.naturalengland.org.uk
- Nature After Minerals www.afterminerals.com